Will Hackers & Makers Save Car Culture?

Self-driving cars on the cheap. Inductive charging units in dashboards. Oldsmobiles that can be controlled with a phone. See what else kids and twenty-somethings are doing with cars, and why these hackers and makers are becoming the next tuners/hot rodders.

In June of 2013 the New York Times declared car culture dead.

We think it’s evolving.

Traditionally, people think of performance and cosmetic mods when they think of car culture. Now it’s about the car’s technology (and we’re not talking LCDs in headrests).

In this panel we’ll begin by looking at the easy-to-use apps and simple modifications that have started to draw kids into the world of cars—transferring their passion and curiosity for technology (smartphones, tablets, Arduinos, etc,) to a physical/mechanical world.

We believe that cheap technology, hand-me-down cars, and the desire to create something physical, are key elements that will draw more young people into car culture and help it thrive for years to come.

Presenters

Jason Torchinsky

Writer

Gawker Media

Jason Torchinsky is mostly a writer and artist based in Los Angeles. Jason has built a functional, 15x-scale Atari joystick, a hoax Kyrgyz arcade machine, and several kinetic sculptures and installations that have been exhibited at LACMA, Indiecade, LAX Art, and the Hammer museum. As a writer, Jason has written for the Onion News Network and has a book, Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture. Jason has worked with groups like Machine Project—giving talks and teaching classes, usually about odd mechanical things and the loons that made them. To fund his lavish, decadent lifestyle, he is Senior Writer and artist for the automotive website Jalopnik.com.

Rob Edwards

Technology Mgr

Team One

Rob is a nerd in the absolute best sense of the word. He has a knack for blending technology with the physical world.
To that end he has won awards from the Denver Regional Transportation District for his LED piece that artfully displays transit system health to its riders as well as administrators. Rob was also named the 2008 Editors Choice at Maker Faire for his interactive LED table.
He is the cofounder of Collab21 in San Francisco. This LLC provides business structures for companies bootstrapping in a coworking space.
During his time at Team One Rob has provided the technical expertise needed to get several high-profile digital marketing campaigns off the ground for Lexus. (He has also become a fierce evangelist for a beverage that combines Mexican Coke with cubes of iced espresso—Rob has not slept since 2011)
In addition to all this Rob has co-created a WordPress theme using Grid 960 and Adapt.js,